I'm Not That Girl
by Moonglow gal
Summary: Kagome and Kikyo agree that they are competing for Inuyasha's love...but they clash over who's winning. Is Kagome right in saying that Inuyasha still loves Kikyo? Or is he finally moving on?


**I'm Not That Girl**

_Hey all! Here's another one-shot from me!_

_(**dodges sign that reads "**_**WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BTBL?**_**"**)_

_Um…would you believe me if I said a big blue dingo kidnapped my BTBL muse?_

_(**barrage of Inu action figures**)_

_No, didn't think so. Anyway, I (shamefully) haven't even started chapter sixteen of BTBL (yeah, I know, great way to thank you guys for breaking 100 for me). I just don't know what to do for it…but don't worry, I'll think of something!_

_Anyway, back to this one-shot, it's actually a songfic to "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked. If this gets deleted, well…I hear mediaminer is much more popular nowadays…_

_And besides, I firmly believe that this whole "no songfic" thing is ridiculous. So long as we credit the artist (Stephen Schwartz composed this song, by the way), why is there a problem? I would personally be honored if someone thought that a song of mine was worth writing a songfic to._

_Bwah, rants are fun._

_Japanese Word of the Day: _shousha- _winner, or victor (it's in the chorus of "No More Words"...or is it called "More Than Words"...? Damn, I've never been able to figure it out)._

_Disclaimer: If the Inu-cast were mine, everyone would be happily squished in my pocket. (**checks pocket**) Damn._

-- -- --

There had been times in her life when she had encountered situations that were both blessings and curses. Even now, undead, she could still somehow be touched by heaven and hell in the same moment.

Kikyo rubbed her fingers irritably on the stock of her bow, feeling the steady breeze wafting against her face, pushing her bangs back, fluttering the two locks of hair that fell before her ears then draped across her shoulders to rejoin her ponytail. The tips of her long black hair rustled slightly as they beat against her sharply contrasted white haori and crimson hakama. She seemed almost like a goddess, a beacon of color, a pillar of motion.

Her curiously otherworldly aura, however, derived mostly from the reptilian demons swarming about her, brilliant white souls clutched to their sickly pale bellies to be released into Kikyo's "flesh". Occasionally, one, having released its burden and ready to seek out a new soul to fuel the lifeless woman, would flit toward the clearing she was so avidly observing, and Kikyo would raise a hand and silently beckon it back.

A blessing and a curse. A blessing to be in this world again, yet a curse to be trapped as a soul-devouring shell. A blessing to be standing here, to witness this unexpected twist, yet a curse to know that she was not the woman in the clearing now.

She silently studied the young man and woman who sat silently under that magical tree. _It's _our_ tree_, Kikyo noiselessly hissed. Yet it appeared that these two had also laid claim to the ancient giant's aura of peace and wisdom. They sat next to each other in awkward silence, yet basking in a sense of comfort that Kikyo had not felt since her death.

The breeze, blessedly keeping her scent hidden from the man in the clearing, suddenly cursed her as well, blowing the girl's words in her direction. "Inuyasha," she murmured shyly. "Um…are you feeling okay, now?" Her hands, absentmindedly rubbing a bandage on her right arm, suddenly stilled and self-consciously dropped into her lap.

The man's sharp amber eyes didn't miss the motion. "Does…does it still hurt?"

"Not really, no," she whispered, clenching and unclenching her fingers in the flimsy green fabric of her short skirt. "But what about you? Are you doing any better?"

"If you're asking if I can still feel those five consecutive sits," Inuyasha said more bitterly than necessary, "yeah, I'm doing just peachy."

"Why do you always have to play the stupid, conceited, insensitive bad guy, Inuyasha?" the girl snapped. "I know you care, so don't act like you've forgotten!"

"I _haven't_ forgotten, but I _don't_ care!" he snarled back, startling even Kikyo with the tangle of conflicting emotions laced through those seven words. "They slaughtered innocent women and children, they deserved nothing less!"

"We've been through this before, Inuyasha! No matter what they deserved, the fact is that you killed _humans_! Don't tell me that it isn't hurting you, because I can tell that it is!" The girl rose up on her knees, glaring down at him. "Why do you always have to be so stubborn?"

Inuyasha seemed about to retort when he caught himself. Kikyo quickly stepped out of sight, wondering if perhaps he had managed to scent her despite the still-blowing breeze. But after a few breathless moments, she heard him murmur, "That…Kagome…fine, I'll admit that it's bothering me…"

As Kikyo thought, _But…what?_ Kagome voiced the same question.

"What makes you think there's a 'but', wench?"

Kikyo moved back to a position where she could see them and grimaced. They had shifted, Kagome having closed in on Inuyasha so she was touching his hand, deflecting his scowl with a penetrating stare.

Inuyasha was the first to look away, not at the ground as Kikyo would have predicted, but at the bandage on Kagome's arm. Hesitantly, he raised his other hand and gently stroked the bandage. "I didn't want to hurt you, Kagome."

Something odd resonated in Kikyo's fragmented soul at those words, and Kagome seemed to react the same way. Her face turned flame red and she looked down at their hands, groping for words until she finally murmured, "It's okay, Inuyasha."

**Hands touch,**

**Eyes meet.**

**Sudden silence,**

**Sudden heat.**

"No, it's _not_ okay!" Inuyasha protested. He moved his hand again, this time shyly, inexpertly running it through Kagome's hair. "I swore that I'd always _protect_ you, Kagome! I never wanted to hurt you, but I did. How do you think that makes me feel? You were the only person who could get through to me when I turned into a demon, but I attacked you, too! Does that mean there's no hope for me? If I lose so much control that I'll hurt even you…"

His voice trailed off weakly, and his hand fell into his lap. His mouth moved, but Kikyo could only just catch a whisper that sounded oddly like, "I'm scared."

Kagome said nothing, but her message was far more obvious to Kikyo. She slid forward and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's waist, pressing her cheek into his chest, giving his shoulder an almost non-existent nuzzle.

Inuyasha hovered for moment, profoundly embarrassed and unsure of what to do, but when several moments passed and no lightning struck, as he seemed to have been expecting, he relaxed and slid his arms around her as well, holding her to him in an unmistakably caring gesture. He bent and gently pushed his face against Kagome's hair, inhaling deeply and closing his eyes as if by shutting out the world, he could trap himself and Kagome in this moment forever.

Kikyo felt something sharp digging painfully into her hand, and it took a moment for her to recognize the sensation of her nails driving into her flesh. The soul skimmers whirled restlessly around her, releasing souls that flickered erratically before sinking into Kikyo's pale skin. She took a deep breath and un-clenched her hands, all the while thinking furiously, _How _dare_ they? Even after Inuyasha's life has been promised to me…how can they…_

Her anger cooled abruptly, and she sighed. _I suppose I should have seen earlier. He has been spending so much time with her…it's only natural that something has started to change. Despite his loyalty, despite his responsibility, despite his guilt…Inuyasha is moving on._

**Hearts leap**

**In a giddy whirl.**

**He could be that boy,**

**But I'm not that girl.**

-- -- --

Kagome angrily fingered the bandage on her arm, glaring at the dark trees. Just this morning, Inuyasha had transformed into a demon yet again, and this time had managed to scratch Kagome before she could subdue him and force the Tessaiga into his hands. Just this afternoon, Inuyasha had made his most touching confession to date, admitting that he had been frightened, not just of his weakening control over his demon self, but of his failure to keep her safe. Just this evening, they had walked back to Kaede's hut, not touching, but still feeling closer than ever.

Just five minutes later, one of Kikyo's soul skimmers had woven its ghostly way through the forest, once again ensnaring Inuyasha's attention.

She was sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall of Kaede's hut. The stars were slowly twinkling into being in the darkening sky, and Kagome, however irrational it was, suddenly found it hard to resist the temptation to leap to her feet and ask the stars in the rudest way possible what the hell it was that they were so happy about.

"God, I'm getting more like Inuyasha every day," she murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest so she could rest her chin on them. Casting another glance at the stars, she sighed in envy. "If only I could be as oblivious as all those stars…if only I could be up there with them…so I could see where that jerk went."

_I mean, I thought something had changed between us this afternoon! I thought…I thought…_

She deflated. _Oh, I can think all I want, but nothing can change reality. I'm just some passing companion to him. He _loved _Kikyo…he _still_ loves her. She was his everything when she was alive, and even now, he's willing to go to hell to be with her. What am I against that? What do I think I can do that would convince him to stay with me? What is it here, other than his revenge, that he has to come back to here?_

The icy fear that she had been suppressing finally, as always, broke through her defenses. "What if he doesn't come back?" she whispered. "What if, this time, he really dies?"

**Don't dream**

**Too far.**

**Don't lose sight**

**Of who you are.**

_Here, he has vengeance that's steadily becoming more impossible. Out there, he has freedom from all these things he's suffered. He has eternity with the woman he loves…even it _is_ in hell._

Kagome sighed and shifted, pressing her eyes against her kneecaps. _Gods know _I _wouldn't hesitate to go with him._

Thinking of what his reaction would be like if she offered to go with him, Kagome laughed hollowly. _No doubt he'd refuse outright, give me some lame insult about tagging along with him everywhere, get me mad at him, which would start another fight… No wonder he wants to go with Kikyo. All we ever do is fight. At least with her he'll have some peace, not all the nagging I give him._

_What was their relationship like when Kikyo was alive? Were they really close?_

She grimaced at the resulting mental image. _Did…did anything like _that_ ever happen? Whatever it was like, I'm sure Inuyasha would give anything for things to go back to the way they were then. With Kikyo. _Without _me._

**Don't remember**

**That rush of joy.**

**He could be that boy…**

**I'm not that girl.**

-- -- --

An unburdened soul skimmer glided its way to its mistress and twined about her arm. Rather than providing her with a soul, it bent its head close to her ear, for all the world looking like it was whispering some momentous secret to her. Although her hearing detected nothing, Kikyo nodded and gave her servant a gentle rub on the head. _And so, as always, he comes…_

As the soul skimmer flew away, the bushes behind Kikyo rustled. She didn't need to turn to recognize the mixed aura, or the voice that whispered her name as if any sudden movements would make her lash out. But turn she did, and she leveled her calmest stare at her visitor. "Inuyasha," she murmured. "I detect a disturbance in your aura today."

His rough but handsome face visibly flinched. "I…transformed into a demon today. It happens every once in a while, when my life is threatened and I don't have my Tessaiga with me." A claw tapped against the ragged hilt of his sword. "Is…is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

_And I was not informed of this?_ Kikyo thought irritably. "We have not spoken in a long time, Inuyasha."

"Uh…yeah…"

She noted, unsure of whether she should feel privileged or jilted, that Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to impatiently snap at her as he would at Kagome. "I felt that it might be necessary to remind you that your life has already been promised to me." Kikyo locked her gray eyes onto his amber ones and kept them there. "Do not throw yourself into such a situation where you will question that. I admire your loyalty, Inuyasha, so do not disappoint me."

Inuyasha tore his eyes away, watching the soul skimmers as they weaved and writhed around their mistress. "I could never question that, Kikyo," he said roughly.

"Then why is it that I see you growing more and more attached to the world of the living? Why do you accept the embrace of the one thing powerful enough to sunder your oath to me?" Even dead, Kikyo still had masterful control of her voice, keeping it level and soft, yet somehow shaking the very trees with the force of her contempt. "Have you forgotten your duty to me?"

"She's not a _thing_, Kikyo!"

Even Inuyasha looked surprised at what had popped out of his mouth. "I…I mean…Kikyo, Kagome is my _friend_, and nothing can change that. But you…I owe you so much. There is so much you've done for me, so much you have given up, so much responsibility you have taken. I will never forget that. I will never forget that it's _my_ fault that Naraku managed to tear us apart, that you died, and that you're stuck here. I owe you my life, Kikyo. Nothing less."

The priestess sighed slightly. _That's right…he _owes_ me my life. He's _indebted_ to me. He's _obligated_ to leave this world with me. If I released him from this duty, would he still choose to come to hell with me?_

With a flicker of uncertainty that she hadn't felt since she had possessed living flesh, Kikyo stepped forward and touched Inuyasha's cheek. "Inuyasha…would you rather none of that have happened? Would you rather have wished upon the Jewel, thus turning yourself into a mortal and purifying the Jewel? Would you rather have never heard of Naraku?"

He drew breath to bark out what she knew would be an "Of course", but she held up her other hand, silencing him. "Would you rather have lived and died with me, growing old as a common farmer and his wife? Would it have been better if you had never met Kagome, the fox demon, the monk, the demon slayer?"

This new perspective brought an almost fearful look to his face. "I…" 

Kikyo grimaced. Somehow, Inuyasha's hesitation didn't surprise her. "You what, Inuyasha? Is living with your painful past and this huge burden worth it?"

His eyes slid slightly out of focus, and Kikyo could almost see the faces of each of his friends pass through his thoughts. "…yes. It's selfish, but yes. I'll take Naraku…I'll take hell…I'll take betrayal…I'll take the fifty lost years, I'll take my transformations, I'll take every single annoying thing my friends have put me through. Because the good things that have happened are worth it. Every one of my friends is worth it."

_"Every one"…who are you thinking of when you say that, I wonder…_ Kikyo thought bitterly. "Even leaving them for hell? Is that worth it?" she found herself murmuring. 

She noticed that her cold, lifeless touch had brought goose bumps to Inuyasha's face as he answered in his unique combination of timidity and bold conviction, "Knowing them is worth anything." He clenched his jaw before adding, "Besides, it's not a question of _worth_, Kikyo. It's a question of responsibility, and in my mind, there's no question."

But as their gazes locked again, Kikyo could easily see his uncertainty. Guilt nipped at her when she saw the barriers he had erected against anything that could make him waver in his loyalty. The promise of life, a possible future with Kagome…so much he had given up, all to repay that which she had given in her own turn…

"That's right," she breathed. "No question."

**Every so often we long to steal**

**To the land of what-might-have-been.**

**But that doesn't soften the ache we feel**

**When reality sets back in.**

-- -- --

She hadn't felt so desperately alone ever since that night when she had first met Inuyasha. Everything about this situation was so familiar…the darkness, the insecurity, the fear, the forest itself. For almost a year, Kagome had never entered Inuyasha's Forest feeling unprotected…until now. Somehow, Inuyasha's abrupt return to Kikyo had stripped her of her usual confidence in the half-demon's promise to look after her. That promise he had made only a few days after meeting her, when clutching the then-useless Tessaiga: "Look, just let me _protect_ you, okay?"

Yes, it had been a rather overbearing way to phrase it, but from then on, it was sealed. Inuyasha would always watch over her.

But now…no, not now, but for a long time, that had changed. For a long time, his loyalties had been divided, and Kagome, rather than feeling like Kikyo had intruded on the connection between Inuyasha and Kagome, felt as if she had somehow encroached on a sacred bond between the two old lovers. They had, after all, been in love for over fifty years; it stood to reason that Inuyasha wavered when a recent promise conflicted with an old one. And always, the old one won out.

"I guess it _should_ be that way," Kagome whispered, hating herself for admitting it. "But why did I have to fall for a man already promised away? Why can't I love Koga or Hojo? Why the most boorish, the most unavailable of the three?"

…_just masochistic, I guess_.

And speaking of masochistic, there was the Goshinboku's clearing, predictably flooded with the light of borrowed souls. The girl drew a deep breath and silenced her footsteps as best as she could. _Who knows _what_ will happen if Inuyasha realizes that I'm watching them?_

Kagome knelt behind a bush and slowly, cautiously parted the branches until she had hollowed out a small peephole. She almost ruined her efforts with a hurt whimper when she saw Kikyo standing not even a foot from Inuyasha, her hand gently caressing his cheek. Biting back a moan, Kagome began to listen.

"That's right. No question," Kikyo murmured softly. Three guesses at what she meant by _that_.

The lone spectator felt her heart clench at that uncertain look on Inuyasha's face. The two in the clearing stared at each other, while the one outside stared at them both. Kikyo broke the silence.

"Do you remember, Inuyasha? That day you took me out on the river? And then, we came back…I tripped on the deck, and you caught me."

A small blush tinged the half-demon's cheeks. "Yeah…" he responded in the most bittersweet voice Kagome had ever heard him use.

"It was that day that I realized I was in love with you, Inuyasha."

This time, Kagome did squeak, but thanks to a timely throat-clearing cough on Inuyasha's part, it went unnoticed. "Kikyo…why are you telling me this now? I…I already know…"

The priestess dropped her head and turned away slightly, smiling sadly. At this angle, Kagome could see her face more clearly. _She really is so much prettier than I am_, she thought regretfully. _No wonder Inuyasha's always so blown away by her. She's beautiful, she's powerful, and she's strong. How much more similar could he want?_

**Blithe smile,**

**Lithe limb,**

**She who's winsome,**

**She wins him.**

Kikyo stared into space, considering her answer. Finally, she responded with, "Because sometimes I wonder, Inuyasha. I wonder if telling you once is enough. I wonder if _I'm_ enough. If I don't make clear to you how important you are to me, will you still stay with me? Or is your new life so important to you—"

"Kikyo, don't you understand?" Inuyasha interrupted. He grabbed her arm and tugged, forcing her to face him again. "I obey my duty to you without question! How can I not, with everything you've done for me? What else can I do for you, now that you're dead?"

"Is that all it is, Inuyasha?" Kikyo replied quietly, so frostily that Kagome swore she saw the Goshinboku itself shiver. "You 'obey' your 'duty'. So if I hadn't lost my life for your sake, would you not be standing with me now? If I held no claim over your life, would you still choose to accompany me to hell? You take your responsibility seriously, Inuyasha, I know that. But if there were no responsibility, where would you be? Would you still be here with me? Or would you be back at your camp, watching over your friends? Where would you _rather_ be?"

"Of _course_ I'd still be with you, Kikyo!" Inuyasha almost shouted back, but he fooled neither Kikyo nor Kagome with that sentiment. The flash of controversy that had passed over his eyes left a far more powerful message.

Yet it had only been a flash…

Kagome gritted her teeth and tightened her fist around a branch she had been forced to hold back from her face. So he'd hesitated a bit, so what? Did that matter in the big picture, when his final decision would still be to stay with Kikyo?

"I…Kikyo…it's more than what I have to repay to you. I…care about you a lot. You know that," the half-demon grumbled, now refusing to meet Kikyo's gaze. "If I didn't care about you, would I care about repaying my duty to you?"

Silently, the priestess stepped away from him. "That's all I needed to hear," she said formally, her eyes unreadable. "Go…go back to your friends. Until we meet again, Inuyasha." With that, she turned away and left the clearing with her soul skimmers in tow, the eerie light that always surrounded her slowly melting into the dark forest. And for a long time, Inuyasha stared after her, his face as inscrutable hers.

**Gold hair**

**With a gentle curl.**

**That's the girl he chose,**

**And heaven knows,**

**I'm not that girl.**

-- -- --

Kikyo knew better than to look back, to turn and see Inuyasha once more, to be able to remember him as solely hers. But, perhaps all those old village men who grumbled about their wives were right about one thing: nothing is stronger than a woman's curiosity. And so, she walked into the trees until she was certain that Inuyasha could no longer see her ethereal light and doubled back, deliberately taking a difficult path full of obstacles that would conceal her. She had a fleeting thought that she was somehow trespassing on something private, but she waved it away. After all, Kagome had eavesdropped as well, certain that both Kikyo and Inuyasha were too occupied with each other to notice her.

Well, Kikyo had noticed the instant she crept up. How could any trained wielder of spiritual power not be able to sense the magnitude of the girl's power? Inuyasha had probably been too absorbed in the conversation to notice Kagome's cautious advance, but now that Kikyo had left, surely he would detect the girl soon enough.

And so, filled with apprehension, Kikyo made her way back to the clearing and found, not surprisingly, Kagome standing just inside the clearing, obviously ashamed, and Inuyasha facing her, his whole posture as cocky as ever. "Wench, do I need you taking over _every_ part of my life?" he snapped.

"Well, _excuse_ me," Kagome retorted, "but I thought _you_ were the one who repeatedly passes through the well and tries to drag me away from my increasingly pathetic life in my own era!"

"That's different!" the half-demon replied self-righteously. "You have a job to do here!"

"But you're ruining my life on the other side of the well! Hell, forget the other side, you're just plain _ruining my whole damn life_!"

"And how the hell am I doing that?" Inuyasha shouted back indignantly, but Kagome only huffed and looked away. "Oi, I'm talking to you here! What, are you pulling the silent treatment on me now?"

The cold stare Kagome pinned on the stubborn young man somehow made even Kikyo's soul skimmers thrash about uncomfortably. The priestess gently rubbed the forehead of one as she leaned forward. _Was I ever able to make him cower like that?_ she wondered idly.

For Inuyasha was indeed cowering. No, he hadn't leaped for cover or visibly flinched, but his cheeks had paled and he was dangerously close to whimpering. His ears, for once, were pressed all the way back, and his entire body tensed for some sort of explosion. Kikyo tensed as well. She never knew whether she was more embarrassed or amused by Kagome's rants. On one hand, it shamed her that her soul now had no control over its temper, yet the sight of a trembling Inuyasha was not something she was treated to everyday.

"You don't get it, do you? Inuyasha, you _never_ get it! You're always so wrapped up in…in other things that you never bother to look around a little more! You have such a one-track mind, sometimes I wonder if coming here all the time is _worth_ it!" Stamping her foot, Kagome added quite unnecessarily, "God _damn_ it all!"

"Are you calling me selfish, wench?" Inuyasha managed to roar in return.

"No! You're just the most god damned unobservant idiot I've _ever_ known and I wish…" Still fuming, she glared down at his feet. "…Inuyasha, sometimes I wish I'd never met you," she whispered.

Inuyasha looked like he'd been slapped in the face, and Kikyo bristled. How _dare_ that girl say such things, after all Inuyasha had said of his friends?

"You…you really think it would be better that way?" he whispered, his arms dropping his sides in shock.

**Don't wish,**

**Don't start.**

**Wishing only**

**Wounds the heart.**

"I…oh, great, for once it's _me_ putting my foot in my mouth," Kagome said dryly. She looked back at him, her face far from forgiving, but just reassuring enough that Inuyasha remembered to re-cross his arms. "It's just…when I wish that, Inuyasha, I'm ignoring…all the good things that have happened because I met you." She rubbed the bandage on her arm, and when Inuyasha noticed and cringed guiltily, she smiled weakly. "This is nothing, Inuyasha. It's nothing compared to how safe I felt this afternoon. I know you think it's weak to admit to fear, but I was really happy when you admitted it to me. So thank you."

"So…what's making you ignore…things like that?" the half-demon muttered, immediately realizing that he would regret asking that question. "I mean, if you don't want to tell me, fine, but—"

Inuyasha cut himself off, waiting for Kagome to answer. When she did, Kikyo had to lean further forward to hear. "I was really scared, Inuyasha."

"Wait, but you said you've never felt safer—"

"Because you were there with me. But when you went to Kikyo, you left me. It happens every time. Whenever you leave to see her, I get scared. Not for my sake, Miroku and Sango are perfectly capable of keeping me safe. I was just worried about you. You go alone to see the _one_ person who could drag you into death without a single protest. How could I not worry?"

Inuyasha apparently couldn't think of an answer, and so chose tohuff out an embarrassed, "Keh."

"I…I don't want you to die, Inuyasha." Kagome clenched one fist against her chest. "Whenever I think of it…whenever I think of that one time Kikyo enchanted you and almost managed to take you to hell…I get this really cold feeling in my chest, like an ice cube, but ten times worse. It feels like everything just stops. I can't breathe, I can't think straight. I just get so anxious, because you could die without putting up a fight, and I won't be there to pull you back…"

Kikyo almost hissed at that. It was Inuyasha's duty to die with her. How could she even _consider_ holding him back?

The half-demon looked away, still unable to answer. "Keh—hey!" His head whipped back around, his nose wrinkling as he took in some new scent. "Hey, don't you go crying on me now! Geez, you—what do you—what did I—stop crying!" he spluttered awkwardly, half-reaching toward Kagome, who wiped vaguely at her cheeks.

"I can't stop, Inuyasha," she whimpered, her voice wobbly. "I'm just so glad that you're still safe…and I'm still so worried about what might happen next time. When I think about that I don't know what to do."

The watching priestess wasn't sure what to expect from Inuyasha, but his choice of action took her totally off guard. After a few more splutters and one false start, he strode brusquely over Kagome, placed one hand against the back of her head, and almost roughly pushed her face into his chest. "I mean it, wench, stop crying," he growled, completely betraying his threatening words by winding his arms around her and pulling her closer to him. "I'm fine. There's nothing to god damned _cry_ about."

But Kagome's only response was to bury her face in his haori and start sobbing, clutching fistfuls of red cloth in her hands as she let it soak in her tears. Apparently, she was still able to speak, for Inuyasha responded gently to a few inaudible words. "You don't have to worry about me, Kagome. I'm not worth it."

At that, the girl gave him an angry shake and managed to sob out, "Screw what _you_ think, Inuyasha! _I_ think you are! And even if you weren't, I wouldn't care! I would still worry about you. I care about you too much to worry about what you're _worth_."

With a sigh, Inuyasha dipped his head down to bury his face in her hair. "How can you be such a good person?" he whispered.

All Kagome did was shake her head and continue to cry weakly. Kikyo wasn't sure how long she stood watching them; all she knew was that an eternity seemed to pass before Kagome lifted her puffy but dry eyes to Inuyasha's face. "Thanks."

He stepped back slightly and cleared his throat. "We should go back," he said shortly. Turning away almost before Kagome could nod, he grabbed her hand and began to lead her out of the clearing. The girl made to follow, but suddenly stumbled and landed clumsily against Inuyasha's back. "Hey, what's wrong _now_?" he asked, trying to mask his concern with annoyance. And failing miserably.

He turned and braced Kagome on her feet as she blushed. "I just feel really drained all of a sudden," she mumbled. "I guess all the anxiety and everything else just kind of sapped my energy. Don't worry about me…" In spite of herself, Kagome's eyelids began to droop slightly. "…I can make it back."

"Keh. I'm not stupid, you know." Inuyasha turned and carefully lifted Kagome onto his back. "Although I think all that crying made _you_ stupid…" he grumbled, shifting so the girl could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder.

"Mm…I should be offended by that, but somehow, I don't have the energy," Kagome murmured into the hair between her face and Inuyasha's neck. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

Kikyo watched the two of them slowly leave the clearing, Inuyasha clearly unwilling to jostle the girl on his back. She watched long after she couldn't see them anymore. And then, her face as unreadable as ever, she turned and walked in the opposite direction, her unearthly light fading into the trees.

**I wasn't born**

**For the rose and pearl.**

**There's a girl I know,**

**He loves her so.**

**I'm not that girl.**

_(end)_

-- -- --

_Yeah, climactic ending. I really know how to end a thirteen page story with a bang, don't I?_

_(You _do_ realize that I'm being sarcastic, right?)_

_Anyway, enjoy it while you have it, cuz the instant the people upstairs get wind of this, it'll be gone. GONE, I SAY! I'd obviously be far more upset about that than I'm letting on, so if my next few posts are very angry, violent, bloody ones…check my stories and you may find out why._

_That said, sayonara! Love you all!_


End file.
